The determinants, content, and effects of parental discipline and control practices in families with normal and clinically depressed mothers are investigated. This study is part of a series of investigations assessing the environmental transmission of competent and disordered patterns of child behavior in families with normal and affectively disturbed parents. Impaired parental skills in managing children's behavior have repeatedly been implicated in the etiology of maladaptive patterns of child behavior such as noncompliance, aggressiveness, and other antisocial behaviors. Assessments of parent and child behavior are based on detailed observations of parent-child interaction in a naturalistic setting. Among the specific aspects of parental control that are being investigated are the purpose of parental interventions, the quality and timing of mothers' strategies, and their ability to resolve conflicts successfully after initial noncompliance in children. Children's self-control and emotional reactions to parental interventions are also assessed. The influence of social class of family and of seriousness and current status of mothers' affective disorders are examined.